60s that is worth remembering.” 294 Individuals tended to identify strongly as ‘doves’ or ‘hawks’ and opinions became extremely divisive amongst the public. 295 Nichols avoids taking a hard line on Vietnam so as not to alienate segments of the audience, however this damages the film’s standing as culturally significant but ensured its timeless popularity. Attitudes towards the escalating conflict in Vietnam and increased feelings of alienation were expressed by way of student protests. The Graduate uses two opposing camera angles to demonstrate the juxtaposition between Ben’s entrapment in his suburban home and his liberation on the Berkley campus. Close, claustrophobic shots are used to signify entrapment whereas sweeping, broad lenses are used after Ben’s escape from the ‘tank’. University campuses were the setting of some of the most active political campaigns and protests of the 1960s and Berkley was used specifically in The Graduate for its role in founding the Free Speech Movement. 296 The University imposed restrictions on the advocacy of political candidates and political activism, which was viewed by many as a violation of their First Amendment Rights to Free Speech and Right to Assemble. Seven hundred and eighty three students were arrested for their part in a non- violent sit-in which hoped to readdress these restrictions, resulting in the largest mass arrest in Californian history. 297 The only notable mention Nichols gives to the protests comes from Ben’s landlord, who asks if he is one of “those outside 294 Kyle Stevens, Mike Nichols: Sex, Language, and the Reinvention of Psychological Realism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), 91. 295 Hixson, The Vietnam Antiwar Movement , 179. 296 Ibid., 99-100. 297 Doug McAdam, Freedom Summer (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), 163.
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